Wissahickon Fire Company's Annual Fire Camp Is Off To a Flaming Good Start

The Wissahickon Fire Company hosted the first night of their annual Firefighter Camp on Tuesday night, where participants donned firefighter gear and had a taste of what it is like to be a real firefighter, extinguishing fires, and using rope skills to shimmy equipment onto a roof.   

The camp, which is run from their Ambler station location and starts at 7pm, will be held for the next three Tuesday nights in July.  Campers, who are aged 14 and up, can continue to return to learn new skills.

 “Our goal is to show what firefighters do,” said firefighter lieutenant Sean Matthews,  who has been running the program for about eight years.

“I think it’s awesome.  It’s a pretty cool way for people to decide if they want to be a firefighter,” said camper Selena Sapovits.

The campers, wearing heavy firefighting jackets, pants, and helmets, also tried on a backpack-like piece of gear that held the air tanks that firefighters use to breathe in difficult situations.  The company firefighters helped the campers use special masks to breathe the tank air.

“Camps are great because it gets the word out about fire prevention, and it’s great for recruiting,” said firefighter Patrick Gilmore.

Tuesday night was the first of four Tuesday nights, July 9, July 16, July 23, and July 30, where the campers will experience a range of what the contemporary firefighter does in the course of her duty.  According to Matthews, on July 16 the campers will chop through a miniature roof, on July 23 they will extinguish a fire using a simulator and use hydrolic tools to cut a car open, and on July 30 they will have a barbecue for the campers’ families where the campers will demonstrate their new skills.

According to Matthews, while the number of volunteer firefighters is dwindling nationwide, the number of calls for their help is not dwindling.  He hopes to recruit more potential firefighters to Wissahickon, which is staffed only with volunteers.

“The great thing about firefighting is it doesn’t matter how old you are, it doesn’t matter if you’re a man or a woman, you’re here to help your community," Matthews said.

For more information about the camp, click here.